Tucker’s record FG stuns Lions

Justin Tucker ended the game as if he was starting it, backing up an extra step or two and kicking the football with every bit of force he had in his right foot.

Tucker set an NFL record with a 66-yard field goal, bouncing it through off the crossbar as time expired to lift the Baltimore Ravens to a 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions on Sept. 26.

“That one was more like a kickoff,” he said. “It’s like you’re a competitor in a long-drive contest. You just let it rip and hope it stays straight.”

The kick topped the 64-yard field goal Matt Prater made for Denver against Tennessee on Dec. 8, 2013. Prater’s attempt at a 68-yard kick for Arizona on Sunday fell short and was returned 109 yards for a touchdown by Jacksonville’s Jamal Agnew, a former teammate in Detroit.

Lamar Jackson — and perhaps a break from the officials — made the record-breaking kick at Ford Field possible.

On fourth-and-19 from the Baltimore 16, he threw a 36-yard pass to Sammy Watkins to get the Ravens across midfield with 7 seconds left.

The superstar quarterback spiked the ball to stop the clock, and on the next snap, he threw it away after TV footage suggested the play clock expired.

MLB

CARDINALS WIN 16TH STRAIGHT » Make it a very sweet 16 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Andrew Knizner scored the go-ahead run on Codi Heuer’s wild pitch in the ninth inning, and the Cardinals beat the lowly Chicago Cubs, 4-2, for their 16th straight victory.

The Cardinals’ franchise-record streak is the longest in the majors since Cleveland took 22 in a row in 2017, and the best in the National League since the New York Giants won 16 straight in 1951 on their way to an improbable pennant.

Paul Goldschmidt and Harrison Bader homered to extend a streak that has rocketed the Cardinals into position for the second NL wild card, leading Philadelphia and Cincinnati by six games with six to go.

Next up is a threegame series against NL Central champion Milwaukee beginning Sept. 28 in St. Louis.

Knizner drew a leadoff walk in the ninth. With one out and the bases loaded, Heuer (74) bounced a pitch to Tyler O’Neill that got past catcher Willson Contreras, bringing Knizner home.

Heuer then mishandled O’Neill’s comebacker and Lars Nootbaar scampered home, giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

College football

PLAYER KILLED IN SHOOTING » Utah sophomore cornerback Aaron Lowe died in a shooting at house party early Sept. 26, less than a year after teammate Ty Jordan was killed in an accidental shooting.

Salt Lake City police said the 21-year-old Lowe was killed just after midnight, a few hours after the Utes beat Washington State, 24-13. A second victim in the shooting, a woman, is in critical condition.

“We are devastated to hear about the passing of Aaron Lowe,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in a statement.